Sacrifice
by alphayamergo
Summary: Just because you're a servant doesn't mean you can't make the ultimate sacrifice.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.**

I was fifteen when the Kings and Queens disappeared from Narnia.

I was Queen Susan's maid. My name is Allana, and I was the Gentle Queen's main servant. I was to accompany her everywhere, see to her every need. She was kind to me and to her other servants – they all were.

I was not the only one of my family to serve Narnia's monarch. My family was one of six. I had a brother, one year older than I, who served High King Peter. I had a brother, one year younger than I, who served King Edmund. I had a sister, who was two years younger than me, who served the Valiant Queen.

Cair Paravel went into chaos when they did not return by nightfall. Our panic spread all over Narnia like wildfire. The Duchess Anne took charge, King Peter's wife. She was not a queen – there were only four thrones, and none of the Royal Siblings were to be demoted. So she became a duchess, and was ready to step into place when King Peter disappeared. Duke Emmet, Queen Lucy's husband, did also. But they were not monarchs. They did not have the natural ability to raise moral of their subjects, to lead them into battle that came so naturally to the Royal Sibling.

The country went into chaos.

Already, armies were marching against us. My parents were worried. My siblings and I still lived in Cair Paravel. They wanted us to return to our childhood home, but we refused. We were loyal. We did not want to leave our jobs, despite the danger that was clearly going to come.

We had a meeting once, to decide what we were to do. It was held by candlelight one night when none of us could sleep. Nobody stirred in the castle, except two guards and a few owls. We sat in my room, anxious about what was to come.

"I am scared," Natalie admitted. She sat, curled up in blankets, on my lap.

"I am too, Nat," I replied. My eyes felt wet. "But I believe we have to stay."

"I do too," George, my elder brother, agreed. "We must stay. I want to go home, to see Mother and Father again, but we simply must stay. Our monarchs would have expected us too."

"Yes. We aren't mice." Jonathon's voice would have been loud and booming at any other moment. "We do not hide at any chance we get." Then he remembered himself, and what the mice did for Aslan at the Stone Table. "Figuratively, I mean."

"I'll stay, too," Natalie said, bravely. "I don't want to be the coward. I don't want to be the one who runs."

So it was settled. We were all to stay, even if the times that lay ahead were going to be tough.

oOo

I was seventeen when the Telmarines invaded.

Narnia put up a good fight, despite the overwhelming odds against us. We were a small country, and despite the Duchess Anne and the Duke Emmet's best efforts, we could not pull together enough to beat them out.

We were overwhelmed. We were defeated.

George was killed. I was taken prisoner, being the eldest and the 'prettiest' of my family. The men were terrible to me. They abused me, and some of the things they did I cannot even think about for fear of falling apart. I am not brave, like my siblings. I daren't let my self dwell on terrible things past. I cannot let myself think about such things, let alone accept them,

"Please," I begged once to a relatively kind man – compared to the rest, he was a saint. "Let me go."

The man just shook his head and smirked, walking on by.

"Please!" I shouted after him. "Please!" My pleas became quieter until I sat at the edge of the cell, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Please," I whispered.

The door of my cell jerked open. A man that looked terrible both in looks and personality walked in. I knew him. He was one of _them._ He was one of the worst.

The fiend jerked me up into a standing position. "Stop your crying," he snarled at me. "You don't want to ruin your pretty looks." He laughed a cruel, harsh laugh. "Even though that's not going to affect anything, honey." He stroked my chin, and I shuddered.

He all but dragged me out of the cell and out into the courtyard. I looked around. Where were Natalie and Jonathon? _Please, Aslan_, I prayed. _Let them be safe._

I blinked then, truly taking in my surroundings. What had they done to Cair Paravel? The once breath-taking castle had been stripped of all its beauty. They had robbed everything. _I hope they didn't find the treasure chamber._

Seeing my shock, that man, that monster, leaned over and whispered in my ear, "This'll be in ruins before the week is out. You mark my words. We're moving to the new castle."

Thinking of Cair Paravel as ruins was too terrible for words. It made me submissive, just for the moment, and they managed to force me up on to the horse and cart.

They drove along at a snail's pace, not knowing the roads well at all. We were deep in the woods when there was suddenly a scream, then a shout of "Allana!"

Two figured darted out of the woods. Natalie, now fifteen, and Jonathon, now sixteen, stood in front of the cart, weapons drawn. The monster who had dragged me from my cell laughed, raising his bow to shoot them.

"No!" I screamed. I threw myself at him, hitting him. He tumbled forwards with a suddenness I had not anticipated, and I only just managed to grab a hold on the cart before he went tumbling off. He lay on the ground, unconscious,

"Go!" I shrieked at my siblings, who watched in horror as the other men converged on me.

I took a hard blow to the neck and my eyes closed. But instead of blackness, I was standing in Cair Paravel.

A giant Lion stood before me. "Aslan?" I breathed.

The Great Lion nodded. "Yes, dear heart."

"Oh, Aslan!" I cried, flinging my arms around his large neck. "Are my siblings okay?"

"Yes, child, they will be fine."

"Thank goodness," I breathed. Then I looked around, an idea occurring to me. "Are the Kings and Queens here?"

"No. They went back to the world they came from, though they did not remember it at the time," Aslan replied. "Now, I believe there is somebody who wants to see you." He drew back, revealing George.

"George!" I shouted, hugging him tight.

George laugh, lifting me up and spinning me around. "Allana! It's good to see you again!"

"It's amazing to see you again!"

That was not the only reunion. There were many. From other servants, to my parents, there were many people to see – some who I did not even know to be dead!

I was in Aslan's Country now. I may be dead, I may have lost two siblings, and I still cannot bear to look back on some events long past, but I still can tell that all will be fine when I see Aslan on that great rise.

**A/n: It was supposed to be short, actually. I'd already decided it would be short when I started it.**


End file.
